Tank explosion in La Salle County injures two oil field workers

A tank explosion at an oil field site in La Salle County injured two workers, Oct.17.

Media: David Gonzalez

A tank explosion at an oil field site in La Salle County on Tuesday injured two workers, who were flown to San Antonio for treatment.

The tanks exploded around 10:40 a.m. at a Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc. production facility south of Dilley, said La Salle County acting Fire Chief Daniel Mendez.

Two workers were in stable condition, and Mendez characterized sending them to San Antonio Military Medical Center as “precautionary.”

Emergency workers created a quarter-mile evacuation zone around the facility, but Mendez said that because it happened in such a rural area, other buildings and facilities weren’t affected. Workers had already left the site and only needed to be moved farther outside of that quarter-mile zone, he said.

Two workers were injured Tuesday in a tank explosion at a Carrizo Oil & Gas site in La Salle County. They were flown to San Antonio in stable condition.

Two workers were injured Tuesday in a tank explosion at a Carrizo Oil & Gas site in La Salle County. They were flown to San Antonio in stable condition.

Photo: Katherine Feser /Houston Chronicle

Photo: Katherine Feser /Houston Chronicle

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Two workers were injured Tuesday in a tank explosion at a Carrizo Oil & Gas site in La Salle County. They were flown to San Antonio in stable condition.

Two workers were injured Tuesday in a tank explosion at a Carrizo Oil & Gas site in La Salle County. They were flown to San Antonio in stable condition.

Photo: Katherine Feser /Houston Chronicle

Tank explosion in La Salle County injures two oil field workers

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The state’s oil and gas regulator, the Railroad Commission of Texas, said Tuesday afternoon that it had an inspector at the site, and that the operator had reported to the commission that a tank exploded at its Seal-Lehman Central Production facility.

The production facility was shut in and the fluids were contained in the secondary firewall, according to the agency.

“Our inspector will determine if the facility is in compliance with (Railroad Commission) rules,” spokeswoman Ramona Nye said.

Carrizo Oil & Gas operates on about 104,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford Shale, mostly in La Salle County, though it also holds acreage in Atascosa, Frio, and McMullen counties